Cyclone Remal kills two, leaves widespread damage in Kolkata; More rains expected today

Cyclone Remal has caused significant damage leading to the death of two and displacing around 200,000 people. In Kolkata, 1 person died after a balcony collapsed in Entally's BiBi Bagan. A house partially collapsed on Camac Street, and 356 electric poles have fallen in the metropolis so far. Additionally, 29 transformers have been damaged, and trees have fallen in many places across Kolkata and surrounding districts. Power failures have been reported in several areas, and fallen trees have blocked Red Road, leading to the closure of flyovers for traffic.

Cyclone Remal also caused significant disruptions in air, rail and road transportation in Kolkata and other parts of southern Bengal. The Eastern and South Eastern Railways cancelled some trains, and the Kolkata airport suspended flight operations for 21 hours, affecting 394 flights. However, flight operations have been resumed, Indigo flight to port Blair took off after 9am today.

As for Metro services, due to waterlogging on tracks between Park Street and Esplanade stations, truncated services are running between Dakshineswar and Girish Park as well as Kavi Subhash and Mahanayak Uttam Kumar stations from 7.51 am. The movement of trains on the Sealdah South Branch has also been suspended.

In the last 24 hours, Kolkata has experienced 146 mm of rain. Today, the city is expected to have a cloudy sky with light stormy winds and rain throughout the day. Another 20 to 30 mm of rain is anticipated by noon. Meanwhile, very heavy rain warnings have been issued for Malda and South Dinajpur in North Bengal. Cooch Behar, North Dinajpur, and Jalpaiguri may also experience heavy rain, with rainfall expected to increase in North Bengal on Tuesday, potentially exceeding 200 mm in Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri district.